When is Haunted Hockey in Lake Placid, the Puck Hog Volume 2,
scheduled for release? Nail-biting time for me! The manuscript and illustrations have been sent to the printer, so we're hoping for mid-October to schedule the first book signing. I will keep you posted. Drum roll please.... I'm thrilled to announce author-columnist Stan Fischler, "The Maven," has written the foreword. I am truly honored. Thank you Stan!
HAUNTED HOCKEY IN LAKE PLACID
Her viewers know her as a crack television newscaster on Syracuse station WSYR-TV.
Christie’s family knows her as a devoted mother of two hockey players, Joe and Sophia .
But The Hockey Maven knows her as a supreme stickhandling cashew who is about as nutty about the ice game as me; and that’s going a long way—say, from Syracuse to the Upper West Side of Manhattan. What has elevated Ms. Casciano to a plain above The Maven is the fact that she has already written a children’s book—“The Puck Hog”—and among my more than ninety hockey books, not one is geared for kids ages five to fifty.
Having read “The Puck Hog” to my grandchildren—I have five; two in Portland, Oregon and three in Israel—I can attest that it is a sweetheart of a story, and you don’t have to be a hockey aficionado to appreciate it or find it a swell read.
But Christie has gone one better, and this is it; her second winner, “Haunted Hockey In Lake Placid, The Puck Hog Volume 2.”
Believe me, as an author I know that it’s more than challenging to come up with two-straight terrific books on the same essential subject, but this inimitable author has pulled off the trick. And if she does it again after this, that would make it an even better literary hat trick.
No less impressive is Christie’s appreciation and knowledge of the game coupled with a special feel for its artistry in rhythm and her thinking behind the motivation.
When asked what inspired her to pick Lake Placid as the venue, her response said it all:
“It was the location, not any particular person this time round, Lake Placid! It’s such an inspirational place! The Miracle on Ice, what an inspirational story and moment in history.
Our youth hockey experiences are also built into this next story. Youth hockey has been an incredible journey for my family. Watching my children play, meeting so many great families, the dynamics of the game and our weekend adventures have all combined to awaken my creative writing soul!”
Clearly, this gal knows her onions and her pucks. Her literary skills make her the perfect author for any children’s tome, and hockey in particular.
If I had one lasting impression from “The Puck Hog,” it was that I only wish that it had been on the shelf of my local Brooklyn library in Tompkins Park when I was looking for a hockey book one winter’s afternoon in 1939.
Suffice to say that this latest Casciano work will do precisely what her original accomplished; provide a dandy read while creating a legion of new hockey fans.
Stan Fischler, New York City, 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment